Student Experiences

Kübra Altinel(2018) "I have completed MSc in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences programme in 2018, which took a “not-so-easy” first year, and a second year which allows you to use the learnt skills via preparing your Master’s thesis. This education supported me in exploring my interests in the large field of bioinformatics and focusing on them, besides prepared the required background to undertake doctoral studies. Studying at UPF was a great opportunity to be involved in multidisciplinary research".

Laura Mora (2018): "By the time I was about to complete my undergraduate studies in biomedicine I already knew that I wanted to work on the field of bioinformatics. In the Msc in Bioinformatics for Health and Sciences I had the opportunity to meet excellent professors and researchers in the field of computational biology. Besides, the program offers a broad repertoire of courses, adapting to your background and scientific interests. Thanks to the master I have acquired the necessary skills and built an extensive network that has allowed me to pursue my scientific career."

David Funosas (2018): "UPF's Master in Bioinformatics provides you with useful and sought-after tools to work in research, especially in the field of health sciences but also in others like environmental research. The syllabus is flexible so that you can learn the skills that you need the most, which usually depend on your previous studies and/or work experience. The master is suited for both students with a biological background and students with a mathematical/computer science background, which was my case. My overall impression is that the master prepares you well for your future career while allowing you to follow your preferences. Besides, since the master is in English, you have fellow classmates from different countries, which I think makes the experience nicer and more enriching".

Quim Aguirre (2017):"Motivated by this fast-evolving field, I decided to enroll the MSc in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences to turn around my career. My lack of programming experience was not a problem, as I quickly learnt Python, Perl, R and how to apply them to the different areas of Bioinformatics. The learning was enriched by the cooperation and motivation of my classmates, who I was very lucky to have. During the second year, I specialized in Network Medicine by doing the master thesis in the Structural Bioinformatics Lab. This derived into the PhD I am currently pursuing in this lab."

Ferran Muiños (2017): "The Masters in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences turned out to be a good opportunity to learn the most fundamental aspects of computational biology -- both in theory and in practice. It allowed me to transition from my background in pure mathematics to becoming a researcher in a scientific field that was completely new to me".

Julia Domingo (2015): "Having studied biological sciences during my degree, enrolling to the master program of Bioinformatics for Health Sciences started as a challenge and ended up being a great surprise. The master gave me the basic tools to allow me to learn any programming language as well as a deep knowledge of algorithmic workflow to later apply it to any computational data analysis. One of the things I enjoyed the most of the course was the interdisciplinary environment. Projects and thoughts were shared between people from very diverse nationalities and backgrounds, ranging from purely computational studies to purely health and biological sciences. If I had to course a master again, I wouldn’t doubt applying to this program. Thanks to the master I had the opportunity to get engaged into very interesting scientific projects during the last year, which allowed me later start a PhD."

Ezequiel Anokian (2015): “ I graduated from the MSc in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences in 2015. It supposed a big yet exciting challenge due to my Computer Science background, and enabled me to move to London where I work as a Bioinformatician for an outstanding Cancer Research Institute. The Master at UPF provides with all necessary tools to start a new career in Bioinformatics, which will be complemented with future experience.”

Anat Eck (2012):"I decided to take the master program in Bioinformatics for health sciences offered by UPF in order to expand my knowledge about the different research areas available and to gain some applied experience in the field. Of course, moving to Barcelona was a great advantage as well. I was very satisfied with how the program was designed. It was very flexible and was adjusted for each student personally based on their background. It was a comprehensive program, which allowed me to get familiar, sometimes for the first time, with different disciplines in the field of bioinformatics. In the second year, we were offered a variety of research projects, out of which we could choose which topic to concentrate on. I had the opportunity to get familiar with the fascinating field of human microbiota, to work on an applied research in a molecular lab and to visit scientific conferences. It was a really good experience, so I decided to follow the same path, now as a PhD."

Oriol López(2012): "The Master in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences allowed me to make a change in my professional career. My background is in Computer Science and I worked in IT consulting sector for more than 10years. The master allowed me to do an easy transition from a pure IT background to a scientific one.The master has given me a wide vision of the principles and methods of bioinformatics. One of the major strengths of the Master is its multidisciplinary approach"

Marija Mavar Haramija (2012): "UPF's Master in Bioinformatics allowed us to, firstly, get to know this multidisciplinary, fast-growing field offering us a clear introduction to most of the disciplines involved, and afterwards, to specialize in a particular area by working on our master projects in top-notch centres. In my opinion, it's a great springboard for careers in these fields. Also, it was great fun".

Pedro Sfriso(2012): "The MSc in Bioinformatics was an excellent introduction to this fast-growing field, in which one needs to be familiar with the concepts from different disciplines such as Biology and Informatics. During my courses, I have discovered tools of whose capabilities I was unaware and which I now use on a daily basis. This master gave me a solid background that enables me to understand how bioinformatics is evolving"

Miquel Duran (2012): "As a trained organic chemist and mathematics enthusiast, I had to bear the frustration of not seeing a direct impact of my work on the lives of people. Through the Master's in Bioinformatics, I was smoothly introduced into timely biological problems, and aided in recycling my previous knowledge into cutting-edge research"

Yorgos Athanasiadis(2012): "While developing my career, high-throughput technologies had started to gain ground in most research activity in human genetics, making essential a good knowledge of computational biology. Aware as I was of this shift, I signed up for a two-year MSc course in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona (2010-2012). This master has gained an outstanding reputation, due to its international teaching staff, interdisciplinary approaches and strong orientation towards hands-on training, helping me to learn new skills or improve existing ones in large data analysis through computer programming, algorithm design and statistical analysis".

Magda Gayà(2012) "After my PhD I wanted to learn some programming, thus, I enrolled in the Master in Bioinformatics of the UPF, which provided me with the necessary background in Bioinformatics. Since I started almost from scratch, this master was quite intensive to me, but thanks to this, I was introduced to several programming languages and other useful tools. The 2nd year research project was incredibly helpful as I could apply my newly acquired skills and gather some experience. Besides the knowledge I acquired, I also made good friends and did a lot of networking. Thanks to all this, I carried on working as a postdoc in Bioinformatics".

David Mosén (2011): "The Master in Bioinformatics was a great opportunity to apply what I learnt during my engineering degree in Computer Science to an exciting and constantly evolving field. On top of that, the demanding courses and the knowledge from a heterogeneous group of students were extremely rewarding. Still, I had time to have fun and enjoy the picturesque Barceloneta quarter".

Ramón Guixà (2011): ""I enrolled into the MSc in Bioinformatics for the Health Sciences at the UPF to pursue a PhD in Biomedicine using molecular dynamics. These two years really provided me with crucial experience to work in a field that evolves extremely fast. Thanks to a multidisciplinary teaching and a state-of-the-art program this master has totally focused my career"

Dmitry Repchevsky(2010): " I've been participating in this master in 2007-2010 and still believe that this was the best investment I ever made. The master is quite tough (especially the first year) for someone with a full-time job, but the possibility to meet so many passionate people and the experience gained are really worth it".

Juan Gonzalez-Vallinas (2010): "The UPF Master on bioinformatics opened me the doors to the word of biomedical research, something that for Software Engineers like I was is equivalent to falling into Alice's rabbit hole. I really enjoyed the fact that the experience was truly interdisciplinary: Biologists, Chemists, Mathematicians, Computer Scientists... The courses have two objectives: To give a broad view and specialization in computer based biology research and to present the different research specializations that the UPF departments work on. Overall, my experience was very positive and enriching both professionally and personally".

Christian Perez-Llamas (2010): "It is perfect to get an overview in bioinformatics. It is more than recommended if you want to do a PhD because teachers are researchers, so you can know their projects and whom to address to according to your interests".

Steve Laurie (2009): "The Masters in Bioinformatics for Health Sciences at UPF allowed me to transition from being a wet-lab biologist to being a dry-lab biologist. The variety of modules available made it easy to tailor the course towards my own interests and paved the way towards undertaking a PhD in evolutionary genomics at IMIM/UPF which I recently completed successfully".